Decorative door knobs



Jan. 5, 1960 w. s. scoTT 2,919,947

DECORATIVE DOOR KNOBS Filed Feb. 18, 1957 W 5 b.57 WALTER 8. T

A 770 PNEYS 2,919,947 I DECORATIVE noon KNons Walter S. Scott, Pasadena,Calif-.; Anna Marle Scott, executrix of said Walter S. Scott, deceasedApplication February 18, 1957, Serial No. 640,642

2 Claims. (Cl. 292-347) The invention relates to decorative knobs aridmore particularly to transparent door knobs for use in combination withdoor latches and locks.

Transparent door knobs are particularly desirable in the modern homeinteriors because of their chaste appearance which harmonizes well withthe Spartan modern decorations. Because of their transparency such knobsappear to be suffused with adjacent colors. When used with highlypolished or colored door lock cartridges, the transparent door knobtakes on the coloration of the cartridge.

It has been found that the appearance of the door lock cartridge withinthe transparent knob is enhanced if the surfaces of the cartridge arespaced slightly from contact with inner surfaces of the knob. Thus theinterior surfaces of the knob containing the cartridge areconventionally dimensioned so that only a small portion of the innersurface of the knob is in contact or engaged with the lock cartridge.

conventionally, access to the lock cartridge must be provided in thesurface of the knob remote from the door. An access port accommodatesthe lock buttons or the keys which operate the door lock. The problemintroduced by the access port is that the conventionally polished faceof the lock cartridge which contributes so much of the decorativeappearance of transparent knobs is marred when foreign particles enterby way of the access port and deposit on the flange face.

I have invented a simple and economical apparatus having all of thedecorative advantages of transparent door knobs and which obviates thedisadvantage of the entry of foreign particles into the interior of theknob. The invention may be embodied in a decorative transparent knob foruse with a door latch and lock having a lock cartridge with asubstantially planar flange face oriented toward the surface of the knobremote from the door. The knob comprises a body having an innercylindrical wall defining a lock cartridge cavity having an inner endwall transverse to the long axis of the cartridge. An access portconnects to the outer surface of the knob remote from the door and opensthrough the end wall of the cavity. The access port is smaller than thecartridge cavity. The knob has means for spacing the flange face of thelock cartridge from the transverse end wall and for sealing the spacebetween the flange face and the transverse end wall against the entry offoreign particles through the access chamber.

Preferably the spacing and sealing means of the knob comprises anannulus formed integrally with the knob adjacent the access port. Theannulus may be concentric with the port and projects inwardly to thecartridge cavity beyond the transverse end wall to make sealing contactwith the flange face of the lock cartridge. The extreme diameter of theannulus obviously must be smaller than the extreme diameter of theflange face so that a sub-' stantial area of the face affords areflective surface not in contact with the interior surfaces of thetransparent knob.

Further advantages of'tl ie' invention are apparent in i the followingdetailed description and drawing in which? Fig. l is "a fragmentaryelevation partly broken away and showing a transparent knob used with adoor lock and latch; i

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary secti line 2-2 of Fig. 1; and V Fig. 3 is afragmentary elevational view partly in section showing a transparentknob used with a door lock of the barrel type. I 5 J I In Figs. 1 and 2a door. 10 having an escutcheon plate 12 from which a door knob shaft 14projects is provided with a decorative transparent knob 15 used with adoor lock 17. The door lock is of the type having a lock button 19projection frorn a face 21 of the knob remote from the door. I a 1 i Themechanism of the lock is contained within a door lock cartridge 23. Thecartridge resides within the knob in a cartridge cavity 25 defined byaninner wall 26 ofsubstantiallycylindrical configuration The cartridgecavity terminates in a transverse end wall 28 remote from the door.Preferably the lock cartridge has a polished exterior. The exterior maybe tinted or the finish may be a chromium or other decorative pl-atewhose coloration is enhanced by the transparent door knob. The cartridgeof Fig. 1 has a flange face 31 oriented toward the surface of the knobremote from the door. The flange face is preferably concentric to thecenter of the knob and an access port 33 which connects between theexterior of the knob and the cartridge cavity.

The lock button 19 extends coaxially through the access port, projectingbeyond the flange face a sufficient distance for easy operation bysomeone manipulating the door lock.

As mentioned above, the decorative effect of the flange face is greaterif the face is not in contact with the interior surfaces of the knob.This is found to be especially true if the knob is made from transparentor translucent plastic such as Lucite. Therefore, the preferredembodiment of the invention has an annulus 35 concentric with the accessport and extending into the cartridge cavity beyond the transverse endwall. The annulus butts against the flange face of the cartridge in thearea adjacent the smaller diameter of the flange. The extreme diameterof the annulus is less than the comparable diameter of the flange sothat a small annular volume 36 is defined between the transverse endwall and the flange face. The lock cartridge may be fixed within theknob by means such as those described in applic-ants Patent No.2,679,913, issued June 1, 1954. This method and like methods insure thatthe cartridge is fixed within the knob to permit turning the latch andso that its position against the innermost face of the annulus does notvary. This contact between the annulus and flange face seals the spacebetween the face and the end wall so that no foreign particles enteringthrough the access port may lodge in the volume defined thereby.

Therefore, the annulus performs the functions of a spacer and a seal.

The invention may be embodied in a door knob used in combination withother types of locks and latches in which a lock and latch cartridgeresides within the knob. Fig. 3 illustrates transparent knob 41 used inconjunction with a barrel lock 42 having a substantially cylindricallock cartridge 44. The lock cartridge must be considerably larger thanthe cartridge for a button operated lock in order to contain thetumblers and other components nal elevation taken along of the lock.

The knob of Fig. 3 has an access port 46 substantially coaxial with thelock cartridge. The access port connects the exterior face 48 of theknob remote from the door Jam-'5, 1

3} with a cartridge cavity 51 defined by a substantially cylindricalwall 53. The cartridge cavity is terminated at its end remote from thedoor by a transverse end wall 55. The access port extends through thisend wall.

The cartridge has a flange face 57 oriented toward the surface 48 of theknob. This flange face is spaced from the end wall and sealed from theaccess port by an annulus 59 similar in construction and function to theannulus 35 of Figs. 1 and 2. The annulus outer diameter is kept to aminimum so that full decorative advantage may be derived from the largerflange face of the lock cartridge.

The inventive concept is adaptable to many types of locks and latchesapart from those illustrated. Transparent knobs of decorative aspect maythus be used in many situations without the drawbacks in likeconventional devices.

I claim:

1. A transparent knob for use with a door latch and lock having a lockcartridge with a substantially planar flange face oriented toward thesurface of the knob remote from the door, the knob comprising a body, aninner cylindrical wall, an inner end wall transverse to the longitudinalaxis of the cartridge, said walls defining 4 a lock cartridge cavitywithin the body, an access port connecting to the outer surface of theknob remote from the door and opening through the end wall of thecavity, the access port being smaller than the cartridge cavity, andmeans for spacing the flange face of the lock cartridge from thetransverse end wall to form a volume therebetween, and means for sealingthe space between the flange face and the transverse end wall againstthe entry of foreign particles through the access chamber.

2. Apparatus in accordance with claim 1 in which the means for spacingthe flange face and the means for sealing the space between the flangeface and the transverse end wall comprises an annulus of a lesser outerdiameter than the extreme diameter of the flange face formed integrallywith the inner end wall and projecting inwardly therefrom for sealingcontact with the flange face.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS

